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The thing I seem to be drawn to is the difference between what a person thinks they stand for, and what happens when they're put to the test. Sometimes it's plain old hypocrisy, but sometimes it's just about how we prefer to see ourselves.

Haha, I thought you were going to talk about the Star Trek theme, as in, "to boldly go where no man has gone before." And the accompanying song. :)

The theme for my current MS is 'forgiveness,' specifically looking at the struggle with forgiving oneself...and forgiving someone else. That's not quite as well-worded as yours, though. And I didn't realize this theme until after I'd started the story-planning. :)

Hey, your themes sound interesting. I sorta find my own themes after the fact, although I suppose sometimes I develop them as I go, once I figure out what's going on. ;o) I guess I have themes of appearance vs who you really are inside, the importance of friendships, and developing strength of character.

Themes are tricky, and I think it's difficult for many writers to see the theme in their WIP if they haven't crafted the story around one in the beginning. I also think stories mean different things to different people and so there can be multiple themes too.

My last theme for a short story I did was this: Answers take time, but this gives us more time to really evaluate and understand the question. That came to me in the middle of writing the story and I ran with it!

I think it was Stephen King who wrote in his memoir that he never drafted with a theme in mind, but when he went back to read through, he'd find it and then emphasize it. I think that's a good system, there are too many books out there that hit the reader over the head with their theme.

Yes, I would say there definitely needs to be an overall theme for every WIP, even if the writer does not outline every last detail. Otherwise, it gets difficult from keeping each character from taking over and trying to pull the story in a direction that he/she sees fit that may or may not serve the story's purpose :).

Cool question! And yep, I've noticed that my books definitely have a theme - they're all about people who aren't who you think they are. And how we all have dual natures - our public side, and our public side, and the consequences of exposing those private aspects to everybody else.

I don't usually write with one in mind. They just sort of come out of the writing. I'd totally over-think the writing if I knew I wanted to write to a certain theme, so I prefer to let it just come organically. :)

Sometimes I have a theme in mind when I start and other times they evolve. What always amazes me though is how the symbols and over-arching metaphors appear without planning. How does that happen? One of the great joys of writing for me.

Themes don't get added to my stories on purpose, mostly because I'm not good at making them appear natural if I force them into a story. But I have had a couple of themes in my most recent books. Namely, be proud of who you are, stand up for what you believe... cliches that I don't really plan on emphasizing.

I didn't have a theme in mind when I started writing my WIP but I've since figured it out. I think it's good to have a line that gets to the heart of your story. It helps me remember what my story is really about.

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